Saturday, October 06, 2012

Last week I received a box of
books from Harper Paperbacks. I receive a lot of boxes of books every week but
these were special - these weren't just any books, these were newly re-released
Dorothy L. Sayers books.

The four titles follow Lord Peter Wimsey, a proper English aristocrat and sleuth, and Harriet Vane, the astute mystery novelist whom Lord Wimsey is hell-bent on marrying.

The good folks at Harper Paperbacks enlisted Elizabeth George to write new
forwards and they will be available for purchase October
16. Plus they have beautiful new covers!

“One of the greatest mystery story writers of
this century.”

—Los Angeles Times

Bourbon Street Books
Presents

Dorothy
L. Sayers’

Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery
Series

With an introduction by
Elizabeth George

HarperCollins Publishers is
proud to reissue STRONG POISON, HAVE HIS CARCASE, GAUDY
NIGHT, and BUSMAN’S HONEYMOON (Bourbon Street Books/Harper
Paperbacks/HarperCollins Publishers; October 16, 2012; Paperback; $14.99 each),
four Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries by Dorothy L. Sayers, published as
part of the new Bourbon Street Books line. This spell-binding series includes:

·STRONG POISON — Mystery novelist Harriet
Vane knew all about poisons, and when her fiancé died in the manner prescribed
in one of her books, a jury of her peers had a hangman’s noose in mind. But
Lord Peter Wimsey was determined to find her innocent—as determined as he was
to make her his wife.

·HAVE HIS CARCASE — The mystery writer Harriet
Vane, recovering from an unhappy love affair and its aftermath, seeks solace on
a barren beach—deserted but for the body of a bearded young man with his throat
cut. With the appearance of her dear friend Lord Peter Wimsey, she finds a
reason for detective pursuit—as only the two of them can pursue it.

·GAUDY NIGHT — When Harriet Vane attends
her Oxford reunion, known as the “Gaudy,” the prim academic setting is haunted
by a rash of bizarre pranks: scrawled obscenities, burnt effigies and
poison-pen letters—including one that says, “Ask your boyfriend with the title
if he likes arsenic in his soup.” Harriet finds herself ensnared in a nightmare
of romance and terror, with only the tiniest shreds of clues to challenge her
powers of detection, and those of her paramour, Lord Peter Wimsey.

·BUSMAN’S HONEYMOON — Murder is hardly the best
way for Lord Peter Wimsey and his bride, the famous mystery writer Harriet
Vane, to start their honeymoon. It all begins when the former owner of their
newly acquired estate is found quite nastily dead in the cellar. What Lord
Peter had hoped would be a very private and romantic stay in the country soon
turns into a most baffling case: the deceased has not a spot of blood on his
smashed skull and not a pence less than six hundred pounds in his pocket.

Packaged
with stunning new designs and accompanied by an introduction by contemporary
mystery stalwart, Elizabeth George, these new editions are sure to captivate
Sayers’ legion of fans and mystery novices alike. These four titles stand apart
from Sayers’ renowned oeuvre as magna opera, and the quintessential gentleman
detective, Lord Peter Wimsey, is at his finest.

About the Author

Often called the greatest detective novelist of the Golden Age, Dorothy
L. Sayers was born in 1893. She was one of the first women to be
awarded a degree by Oxford University and later became a copywriter at an ad
agency. In 1923 she published her first novel featuring the aristocratic
detective Lord Peter Wimsey, who became one of the world’s most popular
fictional heroes. She died in 1957.

Tuesday, October 02, 2012

The bestselling
author of Chocolat and The Girl with No Shadow returns to Lansquenet in this enchanting new novel

PEACHES FOR FATHER
FRANCIS

By Joanne Harris

*Advance Praise for PEACHES FOR FATHER FRANCIS*

“Harris’s skill at vibrantly depicting the charm and
eccentricity of rural French life is at the heart of this delightful
novel…Harris has used this story as a plea for tolerance and understanding, but
her message is not the least pedantic. Fans of the first two books will delight
in becoming reacquainted with Vianne, her dashing man, Roux, and her clever
daughters.”—Library Journal

* UK Praise *

“Like Chocolat, this book is a feast for the senses. Every
page of the book is steeped in scents, colours and tastes, without ever tipping
into the pretentious or showy. The
writing is seductive and engaging throughout; and the magic, too, is intrinsic
without ever being soppy or embarrassing. What is magic (or religion), after
all, if not an ability to understand the human heart? Peaches for Father
Francis is a wonderful return to form for Harris.”—Literary Review

“A delightful jumble of the sensuous sights, sounds and
smells the author describes so well.”—Glamour

Anyone who has read Joanne Harris’ best-seller Chocolat will
be familiar with the deliciously warm character of Vianne Rocher. In Harris’
latest novel, PEACHES FOR FATHER FRANCIS (Viking; Strict On Sale: October 2,
2012; $26.95; ISBN: 978-0-670-02636-4), it’s eight years later and Vianne
receives a letter from beyond the grave from her friend Armande, summoning her
back from her life on a houseboat in Paris to the quaint village of Lansquenet
where she used to run her chocolate shop.

Upon returning with her daughters Anouk and Rosette, Vianne
discovers that everything and nothing has changed in the small village. Her
adversary, Father Francis Reynaud, still feels persecuted and
misunderstood—only this time he needs Vianne’s help. Her one-time best friend,
Josephine, still has an ambiguous relationship with Vianne’s lover Roux, and,
unbeknownst to Vianne, has an eight-year-old son born just days after Rosette.
And Lansquenet itself has changed with the arrival of a large number of
Moroccans. The cultural mix is welcomed by some and resented by others.

Ultimately, Vianne is left to unravel the mystery of
newcomer Inés Bencharki, who is part of the new Muslim community and is
stirring up things. Inés insists on dressing in the traditional full black
veil, under which “she seems as impervious to hostility as she is to gossip,
scandal or offers of friendship.” Tensions between these two communities reach
a fever pitch and it’s up to Vianne to rescue Father Francis and to discover
what’s really going on in Lansquenet before it’s too late.

About the Author:

Joanne Harris is the
author of the Whitbread Award-shortlisted Chocolat, which was made into an
Oscar-nominated feature film, and eleven other bestselling novels. She is published world-wide, in approximately
50 countries, and is the winner of several international and UK awards. She is an Honorary Fellow at St Catharine’s
College, Cambridge and lives with her husband in Yorkshire .

I am delighted to be able to offer one lucky reader copies
of both Peaches for Father Francis and Chocolat along with peach truffles! To enter, send an email to contest@gmail.com, with “Peaches
for Father Francis” as the subject. Make sure to include your name and
mailing address in the US only. This contest is open to all adults over 18
years of age. One entry per email address, please. Your email will not be
shared or sold to anyone.

All entries, including names, email addresses and mailing addresses, will be purged after winner is notified. This contest ends October 15, 2012. Good luck!

Monday, October 01, 2012

Homegrown in
Florida

Edited
by William McKeen

“Sparkles with all the colors of our childhood, like
the Florida sun setting over the Gulf. A surprising cross-section of
thirty-four talented writers, poets, politi­cians, and entertainers transport
us to a state where anything was possible, where memories take on a life of
their own and have lasting consequences.”— Victor DiGenti, author of the Windrusher series

“Brings back a
world in which kids played outside unsupervised, when grand­mothers wore pearls
and smelled of talcum powder and cooked hot breakfasts, and when a mother might
spend Sunday morning immersed in the Miami Herald but felt it her duty to have grace
said at the dinner table.”—Joy Wallace Dickinson, author of Remembering
Orlando

Florida can seem
like a child’s dream of paradise: endless sunny days, trips to the beach to
swim and build sandcastles, bike riding without a jacket in the middle of
January, and magical themeparks only a short drive away. But what was life
really like for those who grew up here?

During a recent
reunion, writers Bill McKeen, Tim Dorsey, and Jeff Klinkenberg found themselves
lamenting that so many of their childhood memories were fading away. For them,
and for many, Florida is not just a place people go to, it’s where they come
from.

That can mean many
things to many people, as the stellar cast of writers, journalists, and
musicians eloquently reveal in Homegrown in Florida. This utterly satisfying
and powerful anthology aims at the heart of the glories of childhood and the
pain of growing up. Both a celebration of the exotic, untamed wilderness of a
youth filled with moss-draped oaks and citrus fields, evergreen winters and
palmetto fronds, and a reminder that innocence often gave way to experience as
bike paths became private developments, and swimming holes were paved over by
interstates, Home­grown in Florida is filled with tears and laughter alike.

Featuring
contributions from Carl Hiaasen, Tom Petty, Zora Neale Hurston, Michael
Connelly, and many more, this is a book for every child of old Florida, and
every child at heart.

William McKeen is the
author of nine books, including Mile Marker Zero, Outlaw Journalist,
Highway 61, and Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay. He teaches at
Boston University, where he chairs the Department of Journalism.

To win your own copy of Homegrown in Florida, send an
email to contest@gmail.com, with “Homegrown
in Florida” as the subject. Make sure to include your name and mailing
address in the US only. This contest is open to all adults over 18 years of
age. One entry per email address, please. Your email will not be shared or sold
to anyone.

All entries, including names, email addresses and mailing
addresses, will be purged after winner is notified. This contest ends October
10, 2012. Good luck!

Contact BookBitch

About Me

I am a voracious reader with a penchant for new authors but will read just about anything I can get my hands on, with the emphasis on fiction but also compelling nonfiction. I work for the public library & was a bookseller for Borders before that. I review for Library Journal as well as my website at www.bookbitch.com.
I am a biblioholic.